A non-continuous track following racing robot

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of based on non-continuous track following racing robot, to solve the problem of speed restriction on non-continuous track in prior art due to inaccurate perception, control delay and unstable power supply. The utility model includes robot car body, drive motor, power module, main control board and the perception module consisting of camera and infrared sensor module. Main control board passes through output time division synchronous signal, cooperates and triggers camera and infrared sensor module to gather data and carries out fusion;Based on Kalman filtering and incremental PID algorithm, generate smooth motor control instruction when track marker is interrupted;And through real-time monitoring power load, dynamically coordinate system power consumption. The utility model improves the tracking speed, stability and endurance of robot on non-continuous track significantly through the cooperative optimization of perception-control-power supply link, while reducing hardware cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of robotics technology, and in particular to a non-continuous track-following racing robot. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of robot racing, to increase the difficulty of the competition, the track is often designed as a discontinuous guide track, such as one composed of dot markers or color block arrays. Existing line-following solutions struggle to simultaneously meet the requirements of accuracy in perceiving discontinuous tracks and real-time speed control.

[0003] For example, some solutions use infrared photodiode arrays for track detection. This method performs well on continuous tracks, but when the spacing of track markers exceeds the sensor's detection range, the robot deviates from the path due to loss of guidance information. To address this issue, some technologies introduce cameras for visual assistance, but traditional image processing algorithms consume a significant amount of the main control board's computing resources (over 70%), resulting in significant delays (up to 50ms) in motor control commands. This is unacceptable for racing scenarios requiring rapid response. Furthermore, when the robot travels on discontinuous paths, the coded motors need to frequently accelerate and decelerate, causing drastic fluctuations in the power supply current. Conventional voltage regulator modules struggle to effectively suppress these millisecond-level current surges, thus affecting the stability of the entire system.

[0004] In summary, existing technologies have failed to achieve coordinated optimization in the three aspects of perception, control, and power supply, resulting in the robot's maximum speed on discontinuous tracks typically being limited to below 3 m / s, and exhibiting problems such as high false negative rates, large fluctuations in motor speed, and unstable system power consumption. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a non-continuous track-following racing robot to solve the technical problems of high mark detection failure rate, large motor speed fluctuation caused by intermittent control commands, and instantaneous overload of voltage regulator module caused by high-frequency switching in existing racing robots on non-continuous tracks.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by this utility model is: to provide a non-continuous track-following racing robot, wherein the non-continuous track-following racing robot includes: Robot vehicle body; Drive motors used to move the robot body; A sensing module, which is installed on the robot body, includes an infrared sensor module and a camera; Power module, which provides electrical power to the robot; The main control board is electrically connected to the drive motor, sensing module, and power supply module.

[0007] In one embodiment, the synchronization signal output by the main control board is a square wave signal with a phase difference of 15°.

[0008] In one embodiment, the main control board includes an analog-to-digital converter that monitors the output voltage of the power module in real time.

[0009] In one embodiment, the drive motor is a Hall-coded motor, and the main control board reads encoder feedback for closed-loop control of the motor speed.

[0010] In one embodiment, the robot body is equipped with Mecanum wheels.

[0011] In one embodiment, the robot body is equipped with four Mecanum wheels, and each Mecanum wheel is individually equipped with a drive motor.

[0012] In one embodiment, the main control board is an STM32F407 and the camera is a K230-CanMV.

[0013] The above-described technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model have at least the following technical effects or advantages: The non-continuous track-following racing robot provided in this embodiment achieves complementary advantages through a vision-infrared temporal fusion mechanism. Even at a high speed of 5 m / s, the recognition rate of non-continuous markers with a spacing of 5 cm can reach over 95%, significantly reducing the missed detection rate and thus improving perception accuracy. Furthermore, based on path prediction and compensation algorithms, the speed fluctuations of the motor at track discontinuities are effectively suppressed, with the fluctuation range controlled within 5%, ensuring the smoothness of the robot's high-speed tracking trajectory (offset less than 2 cm), thereby enhancing control stability. In addition, the dynamic power consumption coordination strategy effectively reduces the peak load current of the voltage regulator module (up to 32%), resulting in a significant increase in the robot's runtime (by 25%) with the same battery capacity. Finally, the optimized control algorithm compresses the memory usage to 50KB, allowing a lower-cost embedded motherboard (such as STM32F407) to meet the performance requirements, thus reducing hardware costs by 15%. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a non-continuous track-following racing robot provided for an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 2 A block diagram illustrating the functional closed loop of the components provided in this embodiment of the utility model; Figure 3 A block diagram illustrating the component connections provided in an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 4 A block diagram illustrating the overall architecture of a non-continuous track-following racing robot provided in an embodiment of this utility model.

[0016] The labels for the various figures are as follows: 1. Camera; 2. Infrared sensor module; 3. Main control board; 4. Power module; 5. Mecanum wheel; 6. Drive motor; 7. Robot body. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain this utility model, and should not be construed as limiting this utility model.

[0018] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model.

[0019] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this utility model, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0020] In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "joining," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0021] Please see Figure 1 This application provides a non-continuous track-following racing robot, mainly composed of the following parts: a robot body 7 carrying all components; a perception module installed at the front of the body, consisting of a K230-CanMV camera 1 and an infrared sensor module 2, used to collect marking information of the non-continuous track; an STM32F407 main control board 3 as the control core, which coordinates and controls the drive motor 6, perception module and power module 4 through electrical connection, realizing data processing, instruction generation and status monitoring; a power module 4 that supplies power to the entire system, which consists of four 3.7V 18650 lithium battery packs and three LM2596S-ADJ step-down modules; four Mecanum wheels 5 for omnidirectional movement; and four DC motors with Hall encoders for precise driving of the wheels.

[0022] Please see Figure 3 The lithium battery powers the voltage regulator module, which in turn provides the required 5V or 6V voltage to the control board, camera 1, infrared photodiode, and motor driver chip. The main control board 3 communicates with the sensor and motor driver chip via GPIO and PWM signals, respectively, and receives feedback signals from the encoder motor, forming a complete control closed loop.

[0023] In one embodiment, the synchronization signal output by the main control board 3 is a square wave signal with a phase difference of 15°.

[0024] Main control board 3 is used to achieve synchronous data acquisition between camera 1 and infrared sensor 2. Main control board 3 (STM32F407) generates and outputs a square wave synchronization signal with a 15° phase difference through its GPIO port. This signal is simultaneously sent to camera 1 and infrared sensor module 2. Specifically, the control program is set to trigger the infrared sensor to acquire data on the rising edge of the square wave signal, obtaining the center coordinates of the marker; while the falling edge of the square wave signal triggers camera 1 to capture the image, obtaining the contour information of the marker. Through this time-division multiplexing method, the two sensors complete sampling sequentially in a very short time, avoiding signal conflict, and the acquired coordinate data and contour data are fused through a coordinate mapping model, thereby achieving accurate perception of discontinuous markers.

[0025] In one embodiment, the main control board 3 includes an analog-to-digital converter that monitors the output voltage of the power module 4 in real time.

[0026] The STM32F407 main control board uses its built-in analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to continuously sample and monitor the output voltage of the LM2596S-ADJ voltage regulator module in power module 4 in real time. When the drive motor 6 experiences millisecond-level current surges due to frequent speed adjustments, causing fluctuations in the output voltage of the voltage regulator module, the ADC can immediately detect this voltage change. Once the detected voltage value falls below a preset safety threshold, the main control board 3 will immediately trigger a preset frequency reduction protection mechanism, such as reducing the frequency of motor speed adjustments or temporarily shutting down the power supply to non-core modules (such as infrared photodiodes), to smooth out fluctuations in the power supply system and ensure the stable operation of core components.

[0027] In one embodiment, the drive motor 6 is a Hall-coded motor, and the main control board 3 reads the encoder feedback for closed-loop control of the motor speed.

[0028] The robot uses a Hall-coded motor as its drive unit. Main control board 3 generates smooth PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) commands based on Kalman filter prediction and incremental PID algorithms. These commands control the speed of the coded motor via the motor drive chip. Simultaneously, the motor's built-in Hall encoder monitors the actual rotation in real time and feeds back the speed information as pulse signals to the input capture pin of main control board 3. Main control board 3 compares the actual speed feedback with the desired speed, calculates the error using the PID algorithm, and dynamically adjusts the PWM command for the next cycle, thus forming a closed-loop speed control system that suppresses motor speed fluctuations to within 5%.

[0029] In one embodiment, the robot body 7 is equipped with Mecanum wheels 5. To enable the robot to move in all directions, Mecanum wheels 5 are installed on the bottom of the robot body 7. The unique structure of these wheels allows the robot body 7 to move in any direction in a two-dimensional plane by controlling different combinations of steering and rotation speed of the individual wheels, including but not limited to forward, backward, lateral translation, diagonal movement, and rotation in place, thereby enhancing the robot's maneuverability and tracking adjustment capabilities on complex tracks.

[0030] In one embodiment, the robot chassis 7 is equipped with four Mecanum wheels 5, each with its own drive motor 6. To achieve independent drive and control of the Mecanum wheels 5, the robot chassis 7 has four Mecanum wheels 5 arranged in a rectangular layout. Each Mecanum wheel 5 is driven by an independent Hall-coded motor. The main control board 3 can independently control the speed and direction of these four drive motors 6. Through precise kinematic calculations, the desired overall robot motion vector is decomposed into the target speeds of the four wheels, thereby achieving flexible omnidirectional movement.

[0031] In one embodiment, the main control board 3 is an STM32F407, and the camera 1 is a K230-CanMV. The main control board 3 uses an STM32F407 microcontroller from STMicroelectronics as its core processor. This model of main control board 3 was chosen because of its computing performance and rich on-chip peripherals (such as ADCs and timers), and its memory usage can be compressed to less than 50KB using optimized algorithms, thereby reducing hardware costs.

[0032] Camera 1 is a K230-CanMV model. This camera 1 supports a maximum resolution of 800×480 pixels, has high-speed image acquisition capabilities, and communicates with the main control board 3STM32F407 via serial port to provide the robot with high-precision visual perception.

[0033] like Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the working principle of the non-continuous track-following racing robot provided by this utility model is as follows: First, the main control board 3 outputs a square wave signal of a specific frequency through its GPIO port, which is simultaneously sent to camera 1 and infrared sensor module 2. In this embodiment, the rising and falling edges of the square wave signal are set to have a 15° phase difference. When the rising edge arrives, infrared sensor module 2 is triggered, quickly acquiring the center point coordinates of the track markers and sending the data back to the main control board 3. When the falling edge arrives, camera 1 is triggered, capturing an image frame containing the outline of the track markers and transmitting the image data to the main control board 3 via serial communication. After receiving the data from both sensors, the main control board 3 matches and fuses the infrared point coordinates with the image outline using a coordinate mapping model, thereby accurately locating the discontinuous track markers.

[0034] Then, after obtaining the fused precise track information, the main control board 3 runs its built-in Kalman filter algorithm, combining the robot's current speed and direction to predict its possible pose within the next 0.5 seconds. When continuous track markers are detected, the main control board 3 uses a standard PID control algorithm to generate PWM commands and send them to the motor drive chip to drive the Hall-encoded motor to rotate. Simultaneously, it reads the feedback value from the motor encoder, forming a speed closed-loop control. When the robot travels between two track markers and the sensors are temporarily unable to collect information, the main control board 3 switches to an incremental PID control algorithm. This algorithm uses the pose predicted by the Kalman filter as guidance to generate a smoothly changing speed command, maintaining the robot's stable movement along the predetermined trajectory and avoiding sudden stops or sharp turns.

[0035] Finally, power module 4 reduces the 14.8V battery voltage to multiple outputs, such as 12V for the motor and 3.3V for the main control board 3 and the infrared sensor. The main control board 3 monitors the output voltage of power module 4 in real time via an ADC pin. When frequent motor starts and stops cause a surge in current demand, leading to a voltage drop and reaching a preset threshold, the main control board 3 immediately executes a frequency reduction protection mechanism, lowering its own operating frequency and that of other non-critical peripherals (such as some LED indicators) to reduce instantaneous power consumption and ensure the stability of core control functions. Simultaneously, the system can coordinate power consumption according to preset strategies. For example, in well-lit conditions with good visual recognition, the operating frequency of the infrared sensor module 2 can be reduced or even put into sleep mode to save energy.

[0036] Through the coordinated operation of the three levels of perception, control, and system, the robot of this invention can achieve high-speed and stable tracking on discontinuous tracks.

[0037] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present utility model should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A non-continuous track-following racing robot, characterized in that, The aforementioned non-continuous track-following racing robot includes: Robot vehicle body; Drive motors used to move the robot body; A sensing module, which is installed on the robot body, includes an infrared sensor module and a camera; Power module, which provides electrical power to the robot; The main control board is electrically connected to the drive motor, sensing module, and power module. The main control board includes an analog-to-digital converter for real-time monitoring of the output voltage of the power module.

2. The non-continuous track-following racing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The synchronization signal output by the main control board is a square wave signal with a phase difference of 15°.

3. The non-continuous track-following racing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drive motor is a Hall-coded motor, and the main control board reads the encoder feedback for closed-loop control of the motor speed.

4. The non-continuous track-following racing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot is equipped with Mecanum wheels.

5. A non-continuous track-following racing robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The robot body is equipped with four Mecanum wheels, and each Mecanum wheel is individually equipped with a drive motor.

6. A non-continuous track-following racing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control board is an STM32F407, and the camera is a K230-CanMV.

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